This Top Prospecting Trap is Easily Avoidable

The lack of emotional connection and personal story-branding is keeping potential clients from connecting with their would-be Advisor, Broker, Coach or Consultant.

Over the last 2 months, I have been on a quest to find the #1 frustration Solopreneurs experience when it comes to prospecting.

Some said they hated cold-calling, while other’s wouldn’t prospect if it rained out. Interesting. A few stated that they loved prospecting because they realised it was a numbers game, and some didn’t even know where to start, which is concerning considering most Solopreneurs I talk to come from “career shops” where they training is recognised as being some of the best. It was when I went through it years ago.

But from the 500 or so that I personally connected with, the biggest frustration for them was getting people interested in sitting down for a first time meeting. They continually encountered the "I'm not interested or I'll think about it" scenarios.

“Getting people interested in sitting down and then taking action stood out as being the #1 challenge for Solopreneurs.”

You Are The Source

Know this to be true. Whatever we are experiencing prospecting-wise, we are the source of it. Trust begins with us. We have to give it to get it, and it’s earned incrementally over time. There was a general tone with most of the folks that had identified this as being their #1 frustration, and the tone was: people suck, people are lazy, people aren’t intelligent. While I have often felt this at times, the reality is it begins with us. If people aren’t into us or our message, it’s pretty egocentric to put the blame on them. We need to accept ownership.

Get a Better Message

Instead, we need to look at what we’re saying, how we’re saying it and be clear on if our message is mutually serving or is it putting the focus back on us, our company or the product. This flow charthelps to uncover why or where your approach may have gone sideways. We call it the “interest breakdown” flowchart.

Granny Had a Gun

My Grandmother, a Re/Max Hall of Fame Realtor; built an empire through emotional connecting, supporting the community and being there for others. She never sought out the listing or sale. They always came to her as a result of being empathetic, interested in people and listening to what interested them.

She was also a master at highly targeted guerrilla marketing to stay top of mind (indirectly). Her personal interactions were always about who she was with, whereas her “own the neighbourhood” approach to local guerrilla marketing allowed her to remind people that she just so happened to be in the Real Estate business. Brilliant.

So what can Advisors take away from Gerry Adair?

Have a Personal Story

Having a personal story connects our prospects to our soul, our passion, our vision and what we’re taking a stand for. It also uncovers our motives for being in the industry and what we see possible for our clients. A personal story is not an elevator pitch, it has substance over sizzle. Why are we in the business we’re in? How did we get here? What obstacles did we have to overcome, and how will this benefit our clients?

Ditch the Pitch

Unless our firm is entirely unique or has a social enterprise component, let’s agree to ditch the idea of “selling” our company. Nobody cares. If we belong to a nationally recognised firm, the brand is well established, and consumers already have confidence in it, so there is no need to resell something that doesn’t need to be sold. This just distracts people from getting to know you, and you, them.

Focus on the Outcome

The outcome is the tangible benefits of what the plan, product or strategy will produce. It’s the emotion. This is what interests consumers. A very very small and obscure group of the population will be interested in getting a financial plan or having a financial review done. So take a page out of Gerry’s book and focus on life events, community involvement and leverage what interests your soon to be a client.

Know That You are Perceived The Same

Financial Services is highly commoditised, so it doesn’t matter what firm or brokerage you’re with, differentiation comes from 3 places: the initial approach/contact, the discovery conversation, the service that follows. Innovation wins hands down all the time. So look for creative ways to introduce the tangible befits of what you provide.

Being Different Showcases Your Strengths

Be unique in the discovery process (ask more then we answer, listen and learn), over-deliver on service, adopt a high-touch white glove approach to showing we have both the resources and capabilities to serve them.

Detox Your Brand & Ignite Your Story

In as little as 3 days Advisors inside our Story Selling Mastery reposition their personal brand, develop a compelling personal story and design 4 attractive invitations (that match each of the 4 types of buyers) to turn their prospecting around. Want in the club? Knock on the door at www.storyselling.club

Ty Hoffman is a Qualified Trust Partner with Reina, and a Business Acceleration Coach who helps Solopreneurs and Small Business Owners ignite their client acquisitions by focusing on trust-building.